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May 25, 2016

This is the most frequently made muffin in my house. I love it. I've always loved bran muffins but the the grocery store kind tend to be full of fat, so I was on a mission to find a healthier version. I found it.

The nice thing about this recipe is that it's full of flavor, dense and moist and yet very healthy. You can change up some of the flavors if you want, to suit your own personal taste preferences. I've discovered that adding orange flavors (thank you Emily) brings this muffin over the top for me.

This recipe is easy to throw together in a big mixing bowl and stir together, no need to dirty up your stand mixer. I refrigerate mine so they'll last longer, just pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds to have a nice warm muffin.

Just look at all the carrot pieces and raisins. So good and good for you. I never get sick of this one for breakfast or snacking. For you Weight Watchers members, this is 4 SmartPoints per muffin. Flax Bran Muffins

May 17, 2016

By far the easiest jam recipe you'll ever make. No cooking, no pectin, no sugar. Only two ingredients and you can eat it straight out of the jar if you want to. Seriously. Crushed fruit and chia seeds and that's it.

The chia seeds thicken up the fruit so it can become spreadable for peanut butter and jelly or topped on your hot cereal's in the morning. Also great scooped into your morning smoothie. And chia seeds are super healthy for you, so that's a plus. Noted as one of the most nutritious foods on the planet they have ton's of fiber, protein, Omega-3's and various other nutrients. You can buy them most places these days, they usually come in a see through container and are dry and very tiny. You can also find them online. And best of all they are usually reasonably priced.

I loved this recipe because clearly, it's very easy. But also very healthy AND it tastes exactly like the fruit itself, the chia seeds don't add any flavor, just texture.

May 11, 2016

If you're looking for some hot cheesy deliciousness, look no further. This dish is the definition of comfort food. Hot, melty and delicious. It requires a little bit of time to stuff the shells but honestly, it doesn't take that long once you get a system down.

I decided to try this one out when I saw that it was a little unusual in that it doesn't have a red sauce. Don't get me wrong. I love me some red sauce, but I wanted different. I wanted cheese! Oh boy did I get it.

In a large pot of boiling, salted, water - cook the shells until al dente and then let cool.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together the ricotta, cheese blend, egg, and salt.

Stuff the mixture into the shells.

In the saucepan over medium low heat, melt the butter. Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Add the Parmesan cheese and whisk until smooth. Season with pepper.

Pour 2/3 of the cheese sauce into a baking dish or oven safe pan. Top with the stuffed shells and then pour the remaining sauce over the top of the shells. Sprinkle with some more of the blended shredded cheese.

May 6, 2016

This bread is pretty darn good, and I wanted to get it posted ASAP. Now, before you run off all excited about a healthy version of banana bread, keep this in mind. It's HEALTHY, so it's not going to taste like your favorite sour cream banana bread, or some of the other sugar laden banana breads you might be used to. However, you can feel good about eating this one.

The banana flavor isn't extremely strong, but it's prominent enough that you know you're eating bananas. It's moist (sorry to those of you who hate that word), dense and wonderful. After years of eating the other not-so-healthy varieties, I was surprised at what a nice change it was to eat something that wasn't super sweet. I really enjoyed this bread, I even toasted it and smeared peanut butter over it for a change up (yummy).

I hope you'll give this one a try. It's good to try new things and this one is even good for you.